A hostname is a unique name by which a network-attached device (which could consist of a computer, file server, network storage device, fax machine, copier, cable modem, etc.) is known on a network. The hostname is used to identify a particular host in various forms of electronic communication such as the World Wide Web, e-mail, or Usenet.
Hostnames are typically used in an administrative capacity and may appear in computer browser lists, active directory lists, Internet protocol (IP) address to hostname resolutions, email headers, etc. They are human-readable nicknames, which ultimately correspond to unique network hardware media access control (MAC) addresses. In some cases the host names may contain embedded domain names and/or locations, non-dotted IP addresses, etc.
For the purpose of identifying a host computer, a standard or persistent hostname is typically in a form of 7-bit American standard code for information interchange (ASCII) character string without special characters, whitespaces, or dots. There is another type of hostname referred to as a display hostname (also referred to as a symbolic or textual hostname) which is in a unicode transformation format (UTF), which can be associated with the standard hostname. The advantage of the display hostname is that it is usually easier to remember.
There has been a lack of user-friendly representation of a host besides the standard hostname and display hostname. In addition, typically, a hostname is statically configured and stored persistently in a local storage device. There has been lack of mechanism to modify the hostname in view of certain network configurations.